Tintin and the Locket of Kadolt
by DisneyPrincess55
Summary: Book Three is here! This time, Tintin and Nollie are headed to Amaliada, Greece, to find a magical Locket-will they be successful, or will they be stopped by trouble? Find out :) please read & review!
1. Chapter 1

**Hey guys! Guess what... I'm baaack! I totally love the way this one begins. This one starts in January of 1928, just a little over a month from where TTATFC (Tintin and the Family Crest, pardon my writer's shorthand) left off. Feel free to re-read if you're totally stumped on what's happening. It's perfectly normal, and nobody's going to judge you. Review, my friends! Loves, DisneyPrincess55**

One

Just A Normal Day

I had been in love with my best friend, Nollie, since I was seventeen years old. That I knew. What I didn't understand was why she loved me back. There's only so much money an adventure-loving journalist can make, and it's hardly enough to support a family—even if he makes the headlines once in a while.

But while I was unsure of how Nollie could possibly love me, I was completely sure of my love for her. I love her more than anything—more than life itself, even.

"And the Locket of Kadolt will heal anything it comes in contact with—whether it be a broken heart or a broken bone," I read aloud to her one afternoon. She looked at me blankly. She was like that—her thirst for adventure wasn't as strong as mine.

"So that's _it_?" She asked, "That's what you want to go find?" Nollie didn't really care for finding long-lost artifacts, she actually really hated it. Like the time we went to find her family crest, and she barely escaped the clutches of the evil David Vircley alive.

"Well, yeah, I mean, it's a lost artifact, the clues are rather vague. But, it _is_ worth some money." She didn't say anything, just stared out the window. Her blue eyes were tired. "Would you go with me, if I went?" She looked at me and nodded gently.

"Of course."

"I thought you'd say that. So I got you this, since it's January and it gets cold—" I pulled a clothing box from behind my back and gave it to her. She smiled and opened it and her eyes lit up in surprise.

"A—trench coat?" She said, a glimmer in her voice as she pulled the coat from its box and examined it. She struggled to tug it on and I helped her. "Oh, it must've cost a fortune," she murmured, twirling around in it. "How could you—"

"Expenses don't matter when it comes to you," I grinned. She blushed.

I was upstairs in my office, looking through books about the Locket of Kadolt, trying to get an accurate sighting of the artifact so I could plot the course when the door opened.

"So how soon are we leaving?" Nollie asked. Her brown hair was pulled back into a single braid—the way it always was when she had been reading, probably adventuring with Sherlock Holmes again. She didn't know how beautiful she looked—how beautiful she was, with her gentle, careful demeanor. "Tintin?" Her quiet, elegant voice cut through my thoughts, "How soon are we leaving?"

"I—I don't know," I murmured, back in reality now. "I'm still plotting the course, trying to find where the locket is." She nodded and was gone, back to her books.

_The Locket of Kadolt is located in Amaliada, _

_Amaliada where?_ The country where the town was located was missing from the page. I flipped through the book slowly, trying to find any other hint as to what country Amaliada was located in.

And then a tiny piece of paper fell out of the book and onto my lap.

_So you want to find the Locket, eh? _It read, _But the country's been scratched off of the page. Well, decode this and you'll find what you're looking for. _Codes were easy for me, and this one was particularly simple. The word was written backwards and used the letter preceding the correct letter, so it was Dbddqf—Greece. The Locket is in Greece! I took out a pencil and drew a line from Canterbury to Greece, and found the small town of Amaliada on the coast. We would need to take a plane—it'd be faster that way. I put the paper that had lead me to Greece on my desk and was about to stand when I noticed there was more writing on the back of the page. I flipped the paper over and there was, in fact, more writing—the same person's. _One more thing—when you get to Amaliada, there's a library. That library contains the next clue in the hunt to find the Locket of Kadolt. Good luck, and happy travels! -H_

_H. Who was H?_ That didn't matter. I had to tell Nollie. I walked downstairs, Snowy at my heels, and she looked up from her book.

"I found our destination," I announced, and she closed her book gently.

"Where are we off to?"

"Greece."

"_Greece_! Oh, how fascinating! Where in Greece—Athens, or Sparta, or—" I loved it when she got excited over things like this.

"Amaliada."

"Amaliada? I've never heard of it."

"It's a coastal city."

"When are we going?"

"As soon as we can. I doubt there's a train that'll take us right there, but it's worth a shot to find one. We may have to take a plane."

"A plane? _Really_? I've never flown before. What's it like?"

"Well, you're flying—I suppose it just feels like an adventure in the sky." She considered this for a moment before speaking.

"It sounds fantastic."

"It is."

Back in my office, I pondered on the trip and Nollie. Even though she looked excited, I knew she would probably be petrified if we actually were on a plane. Perhaps a train would be best… It could be done. It'd take much longer—perhaps three days or more, but Nollie would be happier. And airplanes still weren't the safest way of travel. I'd rather have Nollie happy and safe in a train than vulnerable and scared. There was nothing I hated more than seeing her frightened, like she so often was when her mind was wracked with a nightmare at night.

I leaned back in my chair and looked at the newspapers lining the walls. TINTIN DISCOVERS METEOR, TINTIN SOLVES CASE… there were so many adventures I had been on. Just a week ago, I had been considering giving up the adventures for Nollie, to keep her safe, but here I was again, setting off on another adventure, with my best friend at my side. I would keep her safe this time, I wouldn't let anything happen to her.

That evening, Nollie and Emilie were setting up for dinner when I came in. Nollie looked up at me and smiled, her perfect teeth shone in the late afternoon sunlight as she laid out the silverware perfectly. Her aunt's maid, Andrea, had taught her all about etiquette, and those lessons were going to stay with her for life, I could just tell.

"Have you planned out when we're leaving yet?"

"Actually, no, not quite yet, my dear."

"Where are you off to now?" Emilie asked, not surprised.

"Greece," I said tightly. I didn't want Emilie knowing where we were going. She was too nosy for own good, and I feared she was telling someone about our plans. I couldn't risk her knowing too much about us and putting Nollie in danger. If Nollie didn't favor her so much, I'd fire her. She worried me.

"Like Athens?"

"Well, actually, Amaliada," Nollie added. "Amaliada Greece. It's a coastal city." I gritted my teeth. _She was giving away our location!_

"Amaliada," Emilie said thoughtfully, "How interesting. I've actually never heard of it." _That was a good thing, I suppose. Maybe if she didn't know where the city was, she couldn't find us_.

After dinner, Nollie came up to my office and sat down on my desk, on top of my stack of papers. I looked at her, and she was smiling widely. "Darling, you're sitting on my things," I tried not to smile.

"And I won't get down until you tell me when we're leaving so I can pack my things," she said sassily. Snowy wagged his tail at her-he was very fond of her.

"You needn't pack anything, sweetheart. We're not to be gone for very long, and there won't be space for a bag on a plane."

"About the plane…" She said quietly, "I went to the library today, while you were at work, and I did a little research on planes, and now I'm not too sure I want to be flying over the clouds anytime soon." She knew this was a risky thing to say, after all, she was with _me,_ she'd _have_ to go in a plane at some point in her life.

"Well," I murmured, "I suppose we can just take the train. It's much safer, and I wouldn't want you to be frightened." To hell if it took longer. As long as Nollie felt comfortable. I would go to the end of the Earth to make sure she was safe, always. It didn't matter if I had to boil in a pool of lava or get shot twenty times, as long as she was okay. "Anyway, we're leaving tomorrow, hopefully. _Now_ will you get down?"

"Not until you kiss me," she smiled.

"Now you're just being silly," I rolled my eyes playfully.

"I'm not getting down," she sang. I laughed and got up to kiss her. She smiled and kissed me back. When we broke, she hopped down and kissed me again before walking out of the room and closing the door.

The next morning, we buttoned our coats and headed to the train station. Ever since our first adventure together, when we had nearly been killed while we hung around in a boxcar, we had been buying our tickets to get on the train, instead of hiding. It was safer that way, and Nollie enjoyed it. She was safe. On the train, Nollie leaned her head against my shoulder and we watched the world go by as the train chugged down the tracks. When we got into France, everything was dusted in snow, and I heard Nollie gasp and sit up, gazing out the window, fingers pressed against the glass. She had a love for snow—it was just another one of her traits that made her so amazing. There were French children playing outside, in a park across the street from the train tracks, and she waved. The children just watched, little minds pondering where our destination may be, what adventures were in store for the passengers on this train. What sort of adventures were in for Nollie and I.


	2. Chapter 2

**Hi guys! DisneyPrincess55 here again with the lovely Mr. Chapter Two! Yay! This chapter started out as slow, but I kicked it into top gear when I got a review on Tintin and the Kidnapped Child that said something along the lines of, "this is boring. i'm done reading" I decided to beat the hater and post chapter two of Tintin and the Locket of Kadolt. Here it is! It's gonna get good pretty soon :)**

Two

Amaliada

We arrived in Amaliada shortly after one p.m., and it was Saturday—we had departed on Wednesday. It was a beautiful, small city, and one could hear the ocean from nearly every outside place in the city. The library in Amaliada took almost no time to find—it was the largest building there. Thankfully, Amaliada wasn't a crazily busy town and there wasn't many cars, so we could walk straight across the street with no problems. The clue I had found on the other side of the paper leading us to Amaliada mentioned the Greek Mythology section of the library, a book titled _Sparta. _Nollie was good at finding books, and we found it quickly.

"Here," she said quietly, pulling the book out of the shelf, "I believe this is the one." Hopefully, this was the only volume of _Sparta_ in the library. I flipped through it and a paper fell to the ground. Nollie bent to pick it up, flashing a confused glance at me. "What's this?" She raised her eyebrow and flipped the paper towards me so I could see the writing.

"Uh—maybe it's an old book? Maybe the pages are falling out?"

"Is this a clue?" She examined it, reading the words a few times over, "It is! You're following clues here? What is this, a treasure hunt?" She looked slightly peeved.

"I…I needed help, finding where we were supposed to go, Noll," I sighed, knowing lying would just make her even angrier. "The book didn't tell me where Amaliada was, and the predecessor of that note told me we had to go to Greece. Sorry, darling."

"No, no, it's all right," she read it again, "It may be fun, following clues around." She gave me the paper, "Just tell me next time."

"Of course." I read it. _The woods! That's where the next clue lies, in the woods of Amaliada. It'll be a rough journey, but the next clue is hidden in a tree trunk just west of the Stone Wall. ~H _

"Well?" She asked expectantly, "Where are we headed?"

"The woods. Are there woods here?"

"Whose H?" She took the paper from me, as if I knew.

"Perhaps we'll meet him."

The woods weren't that far from the library, and we were there in no time at all.

"So we're looking for a tree trunk just west of the Stone Wall," she noted, "Stone Wall…" She scanned the trees, trying to find anything. "Well he certainly isn't making this an easy treasure hunt, that's for sure."

"It's not supposed to be easy. No pirate wants to give their treasure away, as you know, in _Treasure Island_, so they make it difficult." She nodded, concentrating on the woods. Concentrating on finding the next clue.

A few hours meandering in the woods trying to find a stone wall, and it was dark. The ocean began blowing its evening breeze, and I saw Nollie tug at her coat to keep warm.

"We should get something to eat," she murmured, kicking a rock with her foot. I gazed out through the trees, trying to see the town.

"It's too far." I hadn't thought about that before we left for the woods—getting food. I figured the woods wouldn't be this dense. "Perhaps we should get some sleep?"

"Good idea," she sighed, collapsing on the ground. I sat down next to her and sprawled out on my back, gazing up at the stars just beginning to peak through the darkness. Nollie laid her head on my stomach and curled herself up in a tiny ball. I didn't mind it when she used my head as a pillow—it was comforting. I rested my hand on her back, feeling the course texture of her coat with my fingers as she fell asleep, waiting for the nightmares that would wrack her mind, tear her from reality and into some horrifying universe that her brain had been taking her to since she was twelve years old. Several minutes later, her breathing picked up and she began to squirm, kicking her legs. I sat up and shook her gently.

"Nollie, wake up," I murmured, "Noll, it's all right, wake up." She opened her eyes and gasped, sitting up and touching the grass underneath us, grabbing at it as if she had never felt grass before. I waited for her to catch her breath before she would tell me what happened. It's how it always went—I would wake her up, she would relax a little, then she would tell me what happened in her dream.

"I was in water—deep, dark, salty water…" She began, staring into space.

"The ocean," I corrected, and she nodded.

"Yeah… the ocean. And there was this girl… with red hair—this long, vibrant red hair… and you saved her? I nearly made it to the top, I nearly did, but then you woke me up, and I'm not—I'm not drowning anymore. But who was the girl? She was so young, maybe five or six at the most."

"I don't know who she was, but you're okay now. It was just a dream, just a false reality. You're safe." She laid down next to me again and fell asleep-the nightmares didn't come back.

The next morning, we set off again, and I could tell by the way Nollie acted she was hungry. We needed food—but we were so close to finding the next clue, we couldn't turn back now.

"Just a little further," I heard myself say, "It should be nearby. Just a little further, and then we can get something to eat." It's not like it was blazing hot or freezing cold—it was rather cool for January. We were walking along, scanning the trees, when I heard the sound of a creek—water running through the deep forest. Nollie heard it, too.

"Water," she whispered, quickening her pace. I followed her closely, making sure I didn't lose sight of her. She followed the sound to a thin creek cutting its way through the forest, most likely dumping out into the ocean. If there were any animals here it was probably the only way they could get fresh water. She dropped to her knees and began to drink. I did the same, watching her. The way she lifted the water to her mouth gracefully, the way she bent over the water. A few drinks later, she sat back on her haunches and looked up, around at her surroundings. "The Stone Wall," she whispered, pointing towards a tall, gray wall made entirely of stone.

"We found it," I smiled, looking at her. She smiled back before getting to her feet. She leapt across the stream and towards the wall. Once she reached it she stopped and looked across the trees for the stump with the hole in it—where our next clue was hidden.

"That one," she whispered, hurrying towards a tree and reaching inside of it. She obviously enjoyed the treasure hunt we were on—despite our hunger and fatigue, she still seemed eagar to find this clue.

"Is it there?"

"Yeah!" She grinned, pulling out a tiny slip of paper, "Here," she gave it to me with a grin.

_The beach is where the next clue lies. You're very, very close now, don't lose hope yet! ~H _

"The beach," I murmured, pocketing the paper, "That's where we're going next."

"That sounds fantastic!" She grinned, "If only we could get something to eat first."

"We will. Come on." I turned and was gazing out at the woods when Nollie grabbed my arm and yanked me behind a tree.

"Someone's coming," she whispered, peering out from behind the trunk ever so cautiously. Just as she said this, a girl of maybe nineteen with jet-black hair emerged from the trees, three boys around the ages of sixteen and seventeen following her.

"This must be the Stone Wall," she stated, gazing around for the stump, "And this is the stump!" She hurried up to it and reached in. I felt Nollie's hand brush mine and I took it, squeezing it as I realized this was our new enemy. We watched as the girl's lips turned into a frown and she retracted her hand.

"Is it there, Coraline?" One of the boys, the shortest of the bunch, asked the girl—Coraline.

"No," she hissed, "Someone's taken it. Looks like we've got some competition, boys." She scanned the perimeter of the trees, and I wrapped my arm around Nollie's chest and pulled her backwards. She had ceased breathing, trying not to draw any attention to herself. "Matthew, you and I will head back into town. I'm tired. Nicholas and Harry, you'll stay here and see if you can find the clue. It's got to be here somewhere. Come, Matthew!" Coraline and Matthew walked off through the trees and Nollie and I watched them go. I released my arm from around her chest and she exhaled. Nicholas and Harry were talking about something back by the Stone Wall, and I nudged her with my elbow, telling her silently it was time to go. She nodded before turning and looking back at the two boys, making sure they weren't looking in our direction before she started to run through the forest quietly, trying to make sure she didn't make a sound. I followed her, clue still hidden away in my pocket. When we got far enough away from them, she slowed to a stop and I fell into step beside her, reaching for her hand. She smiled at this.

"Coraline," she whispered, "What an awful name. It sounds like something scary, like a witch."

"She has hair the color of a witch's," I remarked, and she laughed. "What? She did. It was black as night, chilling as the howling of a wolf, far off in the wood of Transylvania…" Nollie laughed again and leaned into my shoulder, smiling.

We walked back to Amaliada—it was a shorter trip going back than going in, talking about what the Locket might look like. We reached a small grocery where I bought a loaf of bread and some fruit, and we sat down outside of the library and ate. Everything was as it normally was when we went on adventures—we had the enemy, we had the quest, and I had my girl by my side.

**Yup! Coraline. I decided to have a girl bad guy for once. Oh, and Nollie's dream? Yup, that was a snapshot of the future. Heehee :) **

**So I was thinking, you know ~H? The guy who made the whole treasure hunt thingy? He's based off of a real character from the series. I thought I'd have a little contest to see if anyone can guess it! Just PM me your guess & your name and whoever gets it right first gets their name added in the next Tintin and Nollie story! Good luck to all, and please review so I can post chapter three! ~DisneyPrincess55**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey guys! It's DisneyPrincess55! Well, here's chapter three! It took me quite a while because I got stuck a lot, but I pulled right on through!  
THE CONTEST HAS BEEN CLOSED. Everyone who entered won, and their names are going to be inserted somewhere in the next Tintin and Nollie story :) (I'm far too nice to have only one winner!) the answer was Captain Haddock. Well, I better let you read the chapter now... so see you at the bottom!**

Three

Beach

I awoke to the sun peaking through the window of the inn room I had rented. I rolled over and propped myself up on my elbow, gazing across the room to where Nollie was still sound asleep in her bed. I smiled at her. She looked so peaceful when she slept, brown hair cascading across the pillow, glinting golden-brown in the sunshine. As if she could tell I was watching her, her eyes fluttered open and she looked over at me, smiling.

"Good morning," she murmured, sitting up and stretching. She had slept in her dress. "I'm not quite used to sun in January," she noted, walking across the room to the window and peering outside, "It's so odd! And it's warm sun, too."

"Yeah. It'll be a perfect day to go to the beach." She walked over to her bed and sat down, leaning over to put her boots on.

"I, for one, am thrilled to go to a beach in the middle of the winter," she smiled, standing up again. I slipped into my shoes and went to take her hand. We walked through the early morning light to where the beach was. Nollie stopped once we got there and sighed. "It could be anywhere…" She whispered, "Buried in the sand, hidden under a rock… Does the clue say anything more?" I looked at the paper and shook my head.

"No, but perhaps it's at a different beach?"

"I believe this is the only beach in Amaliada."

"Well then perhaps we should split up?" I suggested, and she shrugged.

"I guess so, I mean, it may help a bit. We could cover more ground that way." I looked at her, not wanting to leave her alone. What if Coraline found her? She noticed I was staring at her and caught my gaze. "What?"

"I was just thinking," I switched my gaze away from her to a rock not two feet from us. It was a nice rock—gray and silver, the sun made it look almost shiny. I noticed Nollie's gaze, expectant, questioning. Trying to determine what I was thinking about.

"Thinking about what?"

"The future." It was the only logical way to put it, really, without her finding out anything I didn't want her to know. She was my best friend-and the love of my life-and I never wanted to keep anything from her, but this I had to. She smiled and looked expectant, waiting for me to tell her more.

"What about the future?" She asked.

"Finding the Locket."

"Do you think it's really magical?"

"Yes, of course it's really magical, Nollie, it once belonged to the Greek god, Zeus."

"Ah, Zeus. He had many affairs, and his poor forever-jealous wife back home with a cripple and a war god for sons—both fighting over the same girl…" Nollie enjoyed Greek Mythology very much.

"Yes, yes he did." I gazed across the beach. Never once had I seen such a beautiful landscape—the way the waves sunk into the distant horizon, the golden, sun-splashed sand… and never once had I seen such a beautiful girl.

"We should get going," she said, cutting through my thoughts, "To find the next clue. The sooner we find it, the less likely Coraline will have found it… well, of course Coraline wouldn't find it if we already had it…" She giggled, and I smiled. She had the most beautiful giggle… A sort of tinkling sound, like wind chimes—melodic to my ears.

"Be safe," I heard myself say, and she looked at me.

"Of course I will try, but I am always rather unsuccessful—" She was cut off when I kissed her.

I picked my way around a tall, jagged rock jutting out in the middle of the beach. Nollie and I had separated just fifteen minutes ago, and I wondered how she was doing—if she had found anything yet. To be honest, I missed her at times like this, when I was alone, even if I hadn't seen her for fifteen minutes. The last time I had seen her, she was headed in the direction of some grass that had taken root in the sand. My thoughts wavered from Nollie to the Locket and back again… what if this clue had been carried away by the wind and we'd never find it? I thought of all the ways it could've been lost when I heard my name—Nollie. Nollie was calling my name. I spun around and looked in the direction of her voice—towards the grass—no sign of her, when all of the sudden I heard her again. "Tintin! Tintin—" then she screamed, like a snake had bit her. "Tintin, HELP!" I felt like someone had just hit me over the head with a rock just then, when she screamed. They had found her—it had to be them. Coraline and her boys.

"Nollie!" I shouted, running towards the grass, but there was nothing. No sight of her or Coraline or her boys. I ran through the grass, searching for any sign, any signal where she was, where they had taken her. This couldn't be happening again. It seemed like every time I turned my back on her, let her go off on her own, the enemy took her. She was always their bait for capturing me. I grew angrier and angrier as I realized this. How could I have been so stupid? She was always the bait, and I let her go off on her own and get captured again. I hated Coraline, I hated her boys. I didn't even know their motive for trying to find the Locket but I hated them. They took Nollie, they made me look like an idiot again. Why was Nollie even with me? I was stupid and careless. I left her alone and she got kidnapped—again. This is the third time it's happened… _thir__d_! I had let her get taken away _three_ times! I had to find her—and after I found her, I would never let this happen again.

I raced through the woods, shouting for Nollie. _Where could they have taken her?_ I wondered as I approached a clearing. One of Coraline's boys—the shorter of the bunch—was there, leaning against a tree, sound asleep. I ran up to him, grabbing him by his collar, and shoved him at the tree.

"Where is she?" I shouted, "Tell me _now_!" When he didn't answer, I became even more infuriated. "I said _now_!"

"C-Coraline," he gasped, pawing at my hands, trying to dislodge them, "S-she has her." I loosened my grip, not wanting to kill him.

"That doesn't tell me anything," I hissed, looking him straight in the eye. "Where does Coraline have her?" I heard footsteps behind me but didn't let the kid go.

"You poor boy," Coraline said from behind me, "All you want is your girl back." I dropped the kid and turned to face her, glaring.

"Where do you have her?" I snapped, and she grinned a cheeky grin.

"I won't tell you."

"You will, or I'll kill him." I pointed backwards at the boy.

"What good is he to me? Even if you kill him, you still won't have the girl—what's her name? _Nellie_?"

"_Nollie_. Her name is _Nollie_."

"_Nollie_? What kind of a name is that?" She rolled her eyes.

"Prettier a name than Coraline," I snarled. She glared back at me.

"You want your girl? Fine, you can have her. Matthew—" she hollered, and the boy appeared behind her in an instant, "Seize him." Matthew approached me and I tried to run the other direction, but the two other boys got in my way and stopped me.

"Oh I don't think so," the one I had nearly knocked out against the tree grumbled, and I was outnumbered. Matthew cuffed me, and the two younger boys flanked me as Coraline led the way to their hideout. I followed her inside and she opened a door. The boy I had thrown against the tree—Nicholas was his name—threw me into the room. Since my wrists were locked up I slammed into the floor sideways, smashing my head into the floor. I had only a moment to realize where I was before Harry dragged me to the wall and locked me up. After the henchmen left, Coraline walked in, smiling smugly at me. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Nollie staring at me, sitting not a foot from where I was. I swallowed, knowing I had failed her. We'd never get out now.

"Well, would you look at that," Coraline grinned, "Oh, boys! Looks like we don't have any competition anymore!" She dangled the key that was our answer to getting out of this trap right in front of us before clasping her hand around it and pocketing it, grinning even wider before turning and walking out of the room, shutting the door behind her. I looked over at Nollie and she was still staring at me, still shocked that I had been captured.

"I'm sorry," I murmured, "I thought he could tell me where you were, but it turns out it was just a trap, and now I'm here." She scooted up beside me and rested her head on my shoulder. Right now I wanted more than anything to be able to wrap my arm around her, to protect her more than I could do now.

"I'm just glad you're alive," she said quietly, and I wondered when she last ate. "I wondered if you'd be looking for me, or if you just wouldn't care and would continue looking for the Locket."

"Of course I'd be looking for you," I whispered, "I would go until the ends of the earth to find you." She smiled, reached into the leg of her sock and pulled out a piece of paper. She tried to hand it to me as best as she could—with our hands tied behind our backs it was difficult to do anything. "You got the clue?" I breathed, and she nodded. That's probably why she called my name before she screamed—because she found the clue.

"Yeah, but it'll do us no good now," she sighed.

"No," I said firmly, kissing her, "It'll do us plenty good. Now Coraline can't get it."

"Unless she kills us."

"Which she will not do."

"Even though it'd be quite easy, all she would have to do is send one of her boys in and have him slit our throats."

"I would never let them do that." She blinked, as if she was sure I was lying. "Nollie, I would never let them kill you. I'd rather I die than you."

"And if you died? What would happen to me? I would be alone again, thank you very much." She was right about that. I had vowed to myself to never let anything happen to her—but if something were to happen to me, she would be more vulnerable than ever.

"You would go stay with Rawnie and Kioni," I finally came to the conclusion, "They would take care of you. They'd be your family. They love you, they treat you like a human being."

"But they're not you!" She sputtered, "Yes, I love Rawnie and Kioni, but _they're not you_!" She ducked her head into my shoulder and started to cry.

"Nollie," I murmured, "We're going to get out of here, all right? Together. I won't let anything happen to either of us." She looked at me, tears streaming down her cheeks.

"Promise?" She asked, voice shaking.

"I promise."

**Ugh. It feels repetitive. Does it feel repetitive? I think it does, because they always get kidnapped. Well, in the next story, they won't get kidnapped. Anyway, I doubt anyone noticed it, but I made an R5 reference up there ^^ in the line "searching for any sign, any signal..." go listen to Loud by R5 and you'll get it (maybe I'll make more R5ers hehehehehe) :) And while you're doing that, please review! It'd be very nice of you :) ~DisneyPrincess55**


	4. Chapter 4

**Yay! I'm on a roll today! This is the second chapter I've finished today-the other was for my Ross Lynch fanfic, Forever Yours. Yayy! :) ~DisneyPrincess55**

Four

Escape

I didn't sleep that night. How could I, with our lives in danger? If I had slept one of Coraline's boys could've walked in and simply killed us both. Nollie had curled up on the floor beside me, wrists still tied behind her back, and fallen asleep.

Nobody came to wake us in the morning, nobody came to check on us. Occasionally throughout the night I could hear footsteps and voices pass by our door, but no one ever came inside… and I was starving. The only way to tell the time was by looking through the tiny window on the other side of the room. Sunlight poured from the crack in the wall, and I nudged Nollie with my knee. She squeezed her eyes shut and curled into a tighter ball. "Hey," I whispered, "Wake up. We've gotta get out of here."

"Out of where?" She sat up and sighed. "We're still trapped."

"Yeah, we are." She looked at me and I could tell exactly what she was going to say a moment before she said it.

"Did you sleep last night?" She questioned, and I hesitated. "Did you?"

"I didn't," I sighed, and she clenched her jaw. I prepared to defend myself: "I had to make sure you were going to be all right!"

"But instead you endangered your own," she said through gritted teeth, "It shouldn't be like this… why is it every time we go somewhere we always end up with our hands locked behind our backs in some cold, dark room, all alone…"

"We're going to get out of here," I assured her, and she gave me a half-smile.

"But how?" She whispered, right as the door burst open. Coraline stood there, sneering at us. Her black hair was pulled back, revealing her sharp, pointed chin, and the low light made her look like a wicked witch. She was dressed like a boy, in black trousers and a shirt, like something she was about to do required her to dress like that. In a way, Coraline reminded me of Rawnie—black hair, prominent cheekbones and pale skin… the lone differences were in their eyes and personalities. Rawnie had grey eyes with amber flecks—Nollie described them as embers from a dying fire—and Coraline's eyes were pure amber, a haunting yellow-orange that eerily shone brighter in the darkness.

"How are my prisoners?" She asked before snickering, "Awful, aren't you? I knew it. You're probably starving—like I'd do anything about that." I glared at her and she rolled her eyes. "Don't glare at me, boy, it can't do a thing to hurt me." She pulled something from her trousers pocket and jingled it—the keys. "After all, looks can't kill, and even if they did, you still wouldn't have the keys." With that, she turned on her heel and walked out of the room. I glanced at Nollie, who sighed and bent her head. Two minutes later, the door opened again and it was Harry, one of Coraline's boys. Nollie tensed and glared at him as he shut the door behind himself before walking towards us.

"What are you doing here?" She hissed, and I wondered what had happened between them before I came along.

"I'm here to help you," he flashed us his palms and the key was there. Nollie relaxed when she saw this, and he smiled. "I figured I'd bring you food, 'cause Coraline's going out for a while, but then I figured you'd appreciate being free more than you'd appreciate food."

"Well, actually," I cut in, "Food would be just fine."

"You want me to take the key back?" He raised an eyebrow.

"No, the key's perfectly fine. Thank you, Harry." He went over to unlock Nollie's cuffs first, and he had finished one when Nollie finally said something again.

"Why are you doing this?" She asked him, and he sat back before unlocking her other cuff.

"Because my cousin is really messed up," he sighed, as if saying that had released a heavy weight off his chest, "She means well—most of the time—but capturing you two? I dunno how that could ever mean well. You two never did anything wrong, you just gave her a little competition, and she, I guess, freaked out and decided she had to capture you. I don't know how she even knew it was you guys, to be honest…" He trailed off for a moment before handing the key to Nollie and standing.

"Where are you going?" She asked, and he shook his head.

"Coraline's back. I have to go-" With that, he was gone, and Nollie proceeded with unlocking her cuffs—I had taught her how shortly after Christmas. Once she had finished unlocking her right hand, she moved to unlock mine, and finished quickly. Right as she finished with my last hand, there were footsteps in the hall, and seconds later the door burst open. Coraline stood there, infuriated. Luckily in the seconds before she had thrown the door open we had sat back against the wall, the key hidden in Nollie's sock.

"Where is it?" She snarled, and I felt Nollie press something into my hand. _The clue_. I glanced at her without turning my head and swallowed.

"Where is what," I began, "The simple question _where is it _is quite—" she cut me off with another snarl.

"Don't play stupid with me, journalist," she sneered, "I know all about you. You're probably the smartest ginger in all of Europe… it's a shame you're with such a normal, boring girl…" I saw Nollie tense and I felt my rage begin to grow.

"I would rather be with her," I growled, "Than anyone else in the entire world."

"Even _me_?" She batted her eyelashes.

"_Especially_ you." Her expression went from flirty to stone-cold in a blink of an eye.

"Don't play games with me. Tell me where the clue is right now, you inconsiderate pieces of shit," she snapped, and I knew it was time to go.

"Nollie, _run_," I shouted, getting to my feet and running for the door. She followed right behind me, and as we ran out of the room I could hear Coraline's exasperated scream. On our way to the door, we passed Harry, and I thought I saw him smile as he watched us go. Coraline thundered down the hall after us and I heard her scream to her boys.

"Don't let them get away! They have the clue! Nicholas, Matthew—_get them_!" After we had safely gotten out of the building I slowed just enough to grab Nollie's hand and I could faintly make out another scream from Coraline. We kept running until we reached Amaliada, breathing heavily.

"I think we lost them," Nollie panted, and I nodded.

"Yeah," I gasped, "We did." She wrapped her arm around me and, for the first time in a little more than a day, I was able to hug her. I didn't want to let her go when I hugged her.

That evening, we sat in our inn room, eating the loaf of bread I had bought just earlier on the floor. Nollie had been silent for most of the afternoon, and I was waiting for her to bring it up. She was fully capable of doing it herself, so I had no intentions on asking her.

"Did you really mean what you said," she began, looking up at me, "When you said you'd much rather be with me than anyone else in the whole world?" I looked her right in the eye as I replied, wanting her to know I was telling the whole truth.

"Yes," I answered her simply before going into further detail, "I meant every word, Nollie."

"But she said—" She shook her head and looked down at her slice of bread again.

"That you were normal and boring? She was trying to make you mad. It didn't work, did it?" She didn't look back up at me as she said this, and my heart sunk.

"No, she… no. It didn't work." She was lying, I could tell. Of course Coraline's words cut her. Any negative words towards her would. Any negative words towards anyone would.

"Nollie, my darling, you know I don't think that you're normal and boring, right?" She still didn't look at me. "Nollie, I''m not kidding."

"But Coraline wasn't, either!" She looked at me and I noticed her eyes were red. "She really thinks that I'm normal and boring and she's right, I am. Most girls my age go to parties and go to school and get an education, but what do I do? I read and wash dishes with Emilie—"

"Since when do Coraline's views matter? Nollie, sweetheart, she was trying to make you upset when she said that. Coraline may think that, but I don't."

"I know you don't," she sighed. I moved over so I was sitting beside her.

"So what Coraline thinks shouldn't matter." She was silent for awhile, and I didn't pester her.

"What are we going to do tomorrow?"

"Follow the clue," I handed the clue back to her and recited it as she read. "_Now that you have found this clue, you must find the next one. Only one more clue to go! The next clue is hidden at a shop in Amaliada. Here's a hint as to which one: my owner is quite fond of colors, throughout the store you will find merchandise in red, orange, yellow, green, blue and violet. ~H_."

"It's almost too easy," Nollie looked up at me, "The grocer! We were just there."

"It is still rather early," I looked at my watch, "Five o'clock. Do you think—"

"It's worth a shot!" She giggled, standing up and running to her shoes, "Come on!"

The sun was setting as we reached the grocer's, and the old man who ran the shop was closing up as we hurried inside.

"I'm sorry, kids, but I'm closing up," he shrugged, "Come back tomorrow—"

"No, sir, you don't understand…" Nollie began, catching his arm before he shooed us out, "We're not here to purchase anything, we're here to find a clue for a scavenger hunt. You know, like pirates."

"_Pirates_?" He raised an eyebrow, "You don't look like a pirate princess, young lady…"

"No, no, sir, we're not pirates. We're just a couple of kids on a scavenger hunt. It's like what pirates do, but we're not in it to kill anybody."

"Oh, so you're not with that black-haired girl?" Coraline had already been around here? I saw Nollie turn and look at me, but my gaze was focused on the grocer.

"Did the girl have three boys with her?" He nodded solemnly.

"Yes, three boys. One of them had a nasty scar on his right eye, it looked fresh. They just left not ten minutes ago." When he mentioned the scar I felt Nollie reach for my hand. _Harry—he was talking about Harry._

"Did they purchase anything?" Nollie asked hollowly, looking towards an array of rainbow-colored fruits and vegetables.

"Yes, they bought a few apples and were gone. Never got their names or anything. They looked like they were searchin' for something, but I don't think they found it."

"The clue," I whispered, locking eyes with Nollie.

"You two sure are actin' strange," the grocer shrugged, "Kids these days, I suppose. Well, I'll leave you to it. Good luck finding your clue…" He was gone, and Nollie immediately began to search through the rainbow-colored array of fruits and vegetables.

"Here!" She shrieked, and I hurried over to her. "It turns out they didn't find it."

"_There is a motorcycle waiting for you behind the shop. It'll lead you to the next clue, the coordinates are already on the map. ~H_," I read.

"Coordinates? What coordinates?"

"There must be a map in the motorcycle. Come on!" I grabbed her hand again and we ran out of the grocer, headed towards the back of the shop.

"There it is!" She pointed to the old motorcycle and I let go of her, running over to inspect it.

"The tank is full," I discovered, "And here's the map!" I opened it and the coordinates were written in the same handwriting as ~H's. There was no sidecar so after I got on Nollie had to sit right behind me, arms wrapped around my chest. She was clinging on like her life depended on it. "Let's go," I said once she was secure, starting the motorcycle and pulling out from behind the grocer's.

We were going to find the Locket before nightfall, I was sure of it.

**DUN DUN DUNNNN :) Nollie's actually getting pretty good at the whole scavenger-hunt thing. She figured it was the grocer really quickly. Anywho, please review! :) ~DisneyPrincess55**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey guys! Guess what? CHAPTER FIVE IS FINALLY HERE! Yay! This was my present to all ya'll, since it's my birthday on Thursday. I figured I'd switch stuff up and _give_ a present for my birthday. You know, I actually started this series when I was fourteen. I'm going to be sixteen. Whoa. Anyway, here's your story! :) See you at the bottom :) ~DisneyPrincess55**

Five

Motorcycle Chase

"So where are we headed?" Nollie called halfway through our motorcycle ride. I had forgotten to tell her where the map had pointed to—an old, abandoned house near a shipyard on the east side of Amaliada—about a mile from the grocer's.

"An old house overlooking the bay. It's close to a shipyard," I explained, "Shouldn't be too long." The ride was quiet until I heard another motorcycle drive by—my stomach tightened when I saw it was Matthew and Coraline._ Great, just when everything was going well for once. _

"Tintin…" I caught the worry in Nollie's voice.

"I know. I don't think they noticed us…" I was cut off when Matthew rammed his motorcycle into ours, steering us off the road. Nollie screamed as the motorcycle tipped over, throwing us both off. She rolled farther than I did, and I looked up to see her lying on the ground, motionless. "Nollie!" I shouted, "Nollie! Nollie, can you hear me?" Matthew turned his motorcycle around, drove past us again and I heard something hit the ground as they drove away again. _A bomb_. I moved towards Nollie and shielded her right as the bomb went off behind me. Once the explosion stopped I couldn't hear anything but the ringing in my ears, so I just shook her. "Nollie, wake up. Noll, come on, wake up…" She didn't move, her eyes didn't open, and suddenly a horrible sense of dread washed over me. I felt a hot tear slide down my cheek as I shook her again. "Nollie, please…" I hadn't fallen off the motorcycle that hard—but then again, she was smaller than I was, her bones weren't as strong. _What if she had broken a rib and punctured her lung?_ It was possible. I read about motorcycle accidents all the time. "Nollie, please, please wake up…" I rolled her over in my lap, cradling her head, and noticed the blood flowing from a cut in her cheek. "Please, Nollie, I don't know what I'll do if you don't wake up. My sweet Nollie, please don't leave me… please…" I never cried, not even when David Vircley shot me in the arm, not even when Nollie and I broke up following that incident, although I was in such great hysterics I nearly did. But this—seeing her covered in dust and blood, motionless, the tears suddenly fell faster than I ever thought they would. Knowing she had fallen off the motorcycle so violently it had knocked her out—or worse, killed her... "I love you so much Nollie, you make everything better, since the day I met you my life has been bright and beautiful and you're the most amazing person on the entire planet, I never have deserved you, and yet you love me like I do deserve you—" I bent my head over her and cried, and it wasn't until she touched my hand when I stopped.

"You're crying," she said so quietly I could hardly hear her, "Don't cry." She touched my cheek ever-so-delicately and I opened my eyes, looked at her, blue eyes shining right back at me.

"You—you're… Oh, Nollie—" I hugged her, "I love you so much."

"I love you, too," she smiled, and I kissed her, "What happened? You're covered in dust."

"Matthew pushed our motorcycle over, and then they thew a bomb at us. Are you able to stand?" I didn't want to get up, but I knew I had to, or else Coraline would get the Locket before us.

"I think so—" I helped her sit up before pulling her to her feet. She looked at me once she was standing again and I wiped the blood from her cheek. "Is it bad?" She asked, and I shook my head.

"Just a cut. Nothing deadly, darling, it should heal soon. Come on, we should get going." The motorcycle was in ruins because of the bomb, and so we were walking from now on. I must've twisted my ankle when I fell from the motorcycle, because my ankle hurt terribly—I just had to keep from showing Nollie. Halfway through the walk, she began to slow down.

"You're limping," she said from behind me. I stopped and looked at her, and her face was solemn.

"Yeah, I am," I matched her tone when I said this, and she caught up to me.

"Here, lean on me—" she reached out for my arm but I moved away from her.

"No, I'm fine. Come on, we're close. See? There's the bay." I grabbed her hand and walked forward, but she stopped me.

"Tintin, darling. Please, you're hurt."

"We don't have time…"

"Please." I sighed—it was stupid to argue with her over this, and we were wasting time.

When we finally reached the bay, it was getting dark. "We should stop," I sighed, "Everything will be dark soon." I could see the abandoned house right in front of us, but there was no way we could find it when there was no light outside.

"I want to keep going," she looked at me, determination set in her eyes, "I want to find the Locket before Coraline does. And besides, I have this." She pulled a flashlight from her trench coat, and I smiled at her. She was quite clever.

"Well, all right, but as soon as we find it, we'll stop for the night." She smiled and we continued on for the house. When we reached the small, wooden door she let go of me and went to open it—it fell open when she touched it. She snapped her flashlight on and walked inside. Within a moment, I lost sight of her, until I heard her voice.

"Where is it hidden in here? The last clue?"

"The map…" I reached into my pocket and pulled the map out. Nollie walked back over with the flashlight, enabling me to read ~H's words. "In the last room at the end of the hall, beneath an old, dusty doll, you will find the last clue. ~H."

"The hall," She handed me the flashlight, obviously wanting me to lead the way. She followed right behind me as we walked down the hall. The very last room seemed to be the darkest, and I felt Nollie reach for my hand. I shined the flashlight into the room and walked forward, causing a floorboard to creak. Nollie pulled herself closer to me at this, and her other arm wrapped around mine. She was terrified. The room was dusty, dark and old, and she sneezed. I scanned the perimeter of the room with the light until the light hit an old doll lying on a table. We moved closer to it and she reached out to lift up the doll ever-so-carefully. A few shards of China fell from the doll's face, and she hurriedly picked up the clue with her other hand and set the doll back down. "Light," she beckoned, and I shined the light on the final clue, "Congratulations, you've gotten this far. Now you must find the key and open the box hidden in the room of mysteries. ~H," She looked at me and I could see the twinkle of excitement in her eyes. "Can we try and find the key and the room of mysteries?" She asked, and I nodded.

"Of course. We've gotten this far, haven't we?" I quoted the clue, and she smiled as she flipped the paper over, searching for something.

"You know, it doesn't say where the key is hidden… it could be anywhere."

"Maybe it's in the room of mysteries, with the box?"

"That'd be too obvious. I wish we could split up… but the flashlight…"

"Why don't we just go to the room of mysteries first?" She nodded so quickly I hardly saw it. Hoping it would make her feel better, I handed her the flashlight, and she took it reluctantly.

She led the way to the room of mysteries, which deeply surprised me. My eyes were adjusting to the dark when we finally reached the room—it was easy to tell the room of mysteries from the other rooms because it was much different from the rest, the bed wasn't made—in fact the mattress was propped up against the wall, there were more cobwebs than any other room in the world and strange chains hung from the ceiling—chains like the ones that hold a pocket-watch.

"This must be it," she whispered, opening the door slowly. It's rusty hinges creaked as she pushed it open, and the floorboards squeaked as she walked across them. I followed her, not saying a word. She walked to a dusty dresser where a small box with a diamond-shaped lock sat, and she looked at me. "I found the box," she said quietly, and I moved towards her.

"That was the easy part. Now to find the key, then we should have the Locket…"

"This place is _huge_. How could we ever find a key in here?" I took the flashlight back from Nollie and inspected the diamond-shaped lock. The end of the key was diamond-shaped, it had to be. Hopefully that'd help in finding it. I pulled open the dresser drawers, moving my hand across the dusty, rotting wood. Nollie wasn't standing behind me anymore, she had moved to a desk in the other corner of the room, looking through the drawers. "There's a lot of papers in here…" I heard her say, "Maybe it's hidden in these papers…" She began to shuffle through the massive stack of papers in one of the drawers, and when the shuffling stopped, I knew she had found something. Nollie threw something on the ground and backed away from the stack of papers she had been shuffling through.

"What is it?" She folded her arms across her chest and shook her head, not looking at me, focusing completely on the paper she had stopped on. I moved towards it, shone the light on it and saw, written in big, bold, red letters, was: "Here you have found the Locket of Kadolt. But beware, my fellow treasurehunter, the Locket holds a great power that, if used correctly, will help heal the broken, but if used incorrectly, could cost you not only your life and sanity, but your friends and family." I repeated it to myself before looking back at Nollie, whose gaze had averted to whatever she had thrown on the dusty wooden floor. _The key._ I stooped to pick it up and she moved even farther from me. "What's wrong?"

"I don't want the Locket," she muttered, "Not anymore, not if it's power is to kill it's owner."

"What—Nollie, that was just meant to scare you."

"And it did. I don't want it, Tintin. It had a good power but it also has a bad power and…"

"We've gotten this far, we can't just back out now because you're scared… Sweetheart, the bad power only exists if you use the Locket incorrectly."

"What were we even going to use it for? There are probably people out there who have much better uses for it than keeping it for glory."

"We weren't keeping it for glory."

"Then what were we keeping it for? None of our hearts are broken."

"Yours is." She looked at me like I had lost my mind.

"How is my heart broken?"

"Your parents are dead."

"Yours are, too." Silence. I moved towards the box and unlocked it, taking the Locket and shoving it in my pocket. I shut the box, locked it, and flung the key at the desk. It struck the wall before clattering against the wood on the desk. I stormed past Nollie, hardly even saying anything to her.

"Let's go." I wasn't sure why I was so mad. I just was. I heard her footsteps behind me and knew she was following me. We walked silently through the abandoned seaside house before reaching the door, which I opened for her. She was about to step outside when she looked up and stopped. "What's wrong?" I asked from where I stood behind the door.

She didn't answer, she just stared at Coraline, who stared right back.

**Whoa. Cliffhanger? Check! Haha, I'll get working on the final chapter in a minute. But I have a question... I'm about to start writing the last Tollie story, and I was wondering if anybody still cares enough to read it. Just curious. Because I've been going at this for a year and a half (just about) and I'm just curious if anyone's still interested. It'd just be nice to know :) ~DisneyPrincess55**

**REMEMBER TO REVIEW for the next chapter! :)**


	6. Chapter 6

**Whoa guys. I'm on a roll this week. I seriously started this chapter yesterday and finished today. I feel like an almost-sixteen-year-old boss. Woo! Don't be sad if I don't post a new chapter tomorrow (there's still one left, oops) 'cause it's kinda my birthday. But I don't know. Anyway, see you at the bottom! :) ~DisneyPrincess55**

Six

The Locket of Kadolt

"My favorite prisoners," Coraline sneered, "Look, boys, they've found the Locket for us." Harry wasn't with the gang, it was just Coraline, Nicholas and Matthew.

"How kind of them," Nicholas' tone was sarcastic, and I glared at him.

"The Locket belongs to us," Nollie said from beside me, standing her ground, "Not you." For someone who hated the Locket, she was sure standing up for it.

"But we can take it from you," Coraline shrugged, "You're weak. It'd be easy." Nollie tensed at this but didn't move. I had told her that Coraline's words shouldn't affect her and I was hoping she was taking what I had said seriously.

"We found the Locket first. It belongs to us." I stepped in front of Nollie, holding Coraline's gaze. Luckily, not one of them saw me hand the Locket to Nollie behind my back.

"What have you done with Harry?" Nollie's voice was hollow from behind me, and she moved so she was standing beside me. Coraline looked at her like a snake that was about to strike, eyes flickering satisfaction.

"He has been punished for his crimes in letting the prisoners go."

"He's your _cousin_!" Nollie shrieked, and I grabbed her arm and pulled her towards me. Now was not the time for her to tackle the enemy to the ground.

"Oh, _please_. It's not like I killed him. He's still alive, foolish little girl." Coraline's black hair matched the color of the sky, and her black clothes made it look like her pale face and hands were floating in midair.

"Then what have you done with him?" Coraline ignored her question and looked at me.

"Hand over the Locket and I won't hurt her." She hissed.

"You can't have either," I growled, and she smiled at me curtly.

"You think your words will stop me? I imprisoned you once and I can do it again." She lunged toward me and I pushed Nollie out of the way right as Coraline threw me on backwards onto the ground. I swore I saw the glint of a dagger in her hand from where I lay. I heard Nollie scream and Coraline wasn't towering over me anymore—I sat up fast, terrified she had gone after Nollie like she said she would—only to see _Nollie_ attacking _Coraline_. She had her pinned to the ground and she was punching her in the face.

"That's for Harry," I heard her shriek, followed by her spitting on Coraline, "And that was for hurting Tintin." Oh, right. My ankle. I had completely forgotten about the pain when we came across Coraline again.

"You're an idiot," Coraline hissed, and I heard Nollie shriek as Coraline flipped her over and pinned her down, "You think a bloody nose will keep me from killing you?" The knife. She still had the knife.

"Nollie—" I tried to run towards them, but Matthew stopped me. Coraline raised the dagger up and brought it down. My blood ran cold when Matthew blocked my view. "NOLLIE!" I screamed, and I heard Coraline let out a cry of anguish. I needed to know what was going on over there. I had to know what was happening to moved out of the way just enough for me to see that Nollie was still alive, and within moments she pinned Coraline to the ground and the Locket fell out from inside her dress.

"The Locket," Coraline shrieked, "That's what it was! Well you won't—" she tried to sit up again, but Nollie had her pinned with every ounce of strength she had.

"I am _not _an idiot," Nollie hissed through gritted teeth, "And nor are you. You're just confused." Nollie looked down at her, blue eyes gentle, and Coraline glared back up at her, blood still flowing from her nose.

"Let me go, you foolish girl." Nollie didn't budge, and it made Coraline even more furious. "I said _let me go_."

"You're confused, Coraline. You think you need to hurt and kill just to get—" Coraline cut her off with a snarl.

"Let me go or I'll have your little friend done away with," she hissed, and Nollie let her go at once—but Coraline had other ideas. As soon as she stood up she began wiping her nose with one hand, and snapped her fingers with the other, signaling Matthew and Nicholas to grab me. Nollie watched it happen and turned to Coraline, looking as if she had means to harm her.

"You lied to me," I heard the hurt in her voice as she said this, and Coraline looked up from tending to her nose, an evil smile spreading across her face.

"No, dear, I didn't lie. You just don't know that all of my bargains come with a catch." Nollie gaped at her, and Coraline's smile widened. "You can have him back safe and sound if you do one thing for me and you don't even have to guess because I'm going to tell you—_give me the Locket_."

"Nollie, no—" I shouted, and Nicholas clamped his hand over my mouth. She pulled the Locket off of her neck and handed it to Coraline, who snatched it from her and laughed.

"Now let him go," Nollie said slowly, and Coraline looked at her, eyebrow raised.

"No," she grinned evilly, "You seem to have forgotten, foolish girl, that all of my bargains _come with a catch_." Nollie looked at me, eyes wide, and she looked seconds away from tears. Coraline stuffed the Locket in her pocket and began to walk in the opposite direction of the abandoned mansion, into a wooded area. Nicholas and Matthew forced me into walking, firm grasps on each of my arms. I glanced over at Nollie, but I couldn't see her—Matthew was blocking my view, yet again. I prayed she'd be brave, that she wouldn't come after me and do something completely stupid.

Coraline led the way through the dark woods—the moon was high in the sky by the time we reached our destination: a tall, dark trawler. Matthew forced me up the deck to the trawler, pulling a pair of cuffs from his pocket and locking my right hand to the bars surrounding the bow of the trawler. "You should know," said Coraline, pacing in front of me, "That if that stupid girlfriend of yours comes after you, she _will_ be killed."

"That's a lie," I grumbled, staring up at her. She glanced down at me quizzically, chuckling as she got down to my level.

"Why do you think that?"

"Because you've had the chance to kill us numerous times and you didn't. If you got the chance now, you wouldn't take it."

"Wrong, journalist, wrong. I nearly killed her yesterday. Had you not saved her she would've died." She was right—had I not shielded Nollie from the bomb, she would've been seriously injured—or worse. I opened my mouth to speak again, but I was alone, completely alone. I hadn't been utterly alone in ages, and at that time I not only missed Nollie but I missed Snowy. I hadn't seen my dog in a week and it always killed me. I was never sure why we didn't bring him on our adventures any more, but I missed him terribly whenever we left him. When I returned, I would take him for a long walk, with or without Nollie.

Nollie… I hoped she was all right. I hoped she wasn't coming after me—it would cost her her life if she came after me, and I couldn't afford to lose her. I wondered why she was so afraid of the Locket—there had to be some deeper meaning to her fear of it than just what the paper had said. "_Here you have found the Locket of Kadolt. But beware, my fellow treasurehunter, the Locket holds a great power that, if used correctly, will help heal the broken, but if used incorrectly, could cost you not only your life and sanity, but your friends and family_." What if the Locket was truly evil, and she was right to be afraid of it? Maybe it was best that Coraline had it. But if Coraline was satisfied… why was she still after Nollie? She hardly knew her, why did she want to kill her so badly?

I was deep in thought when I heard footsteps coming up the deck to the trawler. _Who could that be?_ Not Matthew or Nicholas, they had disappeared with Coraline. _No. Please don't be Nollie, please be Harry or someone else… please don't be Nollie, please… _A ray of light from a flashlight dashed across my face, blinding me, its owner stepping onto the trawler—I knew at once who it was by her footsteps. I wanted to call for her, but I knew that Coraline would hear everything. The light crossed my face again and stayed there this time—she had seen me. Her footsteps quickened as she moved towards me, and I cringed. When she finally reached me there was a smile spread across her face, and she switched off the flashlight.

"How long have you been searching for me?" I asked her as she examined my cuff.

"Not long," she whispered.

"You need to get out of here," I looked at her and she met my gaze.

"No," she acted like it was a choice, when it most certainly wasn't.

"Nollie, you need to leave. It's not a choice, you need to go."

"I don't want to. I found you, and I'm going to get you out of here."

"She's going to kill you," I didn't mean for my words to come out so strained. Nollie looked at me and shook her head.

"No she won't," she said, as if she was trying to convince herself, "She has what she wants, she has the Locket. Why would she want to kill me?"

"She's using me as bait. Sweetheart, you need to go."

"I'm not going anywhere," she said stubbornly.

"And nor am I," said a voice from behind. Coraline. I tried to stand but fell, causing Coraline to laugh. "You foolish girl…" The black-haired girl shook her head before pausing, a wicked smile crossing her face. She turned to Matthew and Nicholas, whispering something inaudible to us. When she turned back, her smile had widened, and Matthew walked over to me, unlocking my hand and pulling me to my feet. Nollie stood up with me, trying to pull Matthew from me.

"What are you doing? Let go of him—" Matthew sneered at her, and I saw someone appear beside Coraline.

"Oh, Harry. So good to see you again. I hope you've come to your senses about whose side your on…"

"I have, Coraline," Harry's raspy[MAYBE HE IS BASED ON HARRY STYLES GO AWAY] voice echoed through the dawn, his silhouette was forming with the sun coming up behind them.

"Good, good. Here, take this and prove your loyalty to me." I heard the jingling of a chain and knew exactly what she was giving him—the Locket. What was she planning… In the early morning light I watched Coraline turn to Nollie—I was being used as bait again. "You really are an idiot," Coraline cackled, "You have a choice right now. The Locket or your boyfriend—choose wisely, because if you don't, he'll go overboard." Nollie was standing now, eyes locked on mine. Matthew was holding me over the bow.

I knew her decision even before she said it. She wanted nothing to do with the Locket anymore. "Let him go," she said quietly, "Please."

"Good answer," Coraline said curtly, nodding to Matthew, who pulled me in and let me go. I went to Nollie and she wrapped her arms around me, burying her face in my shoulder. "Now, Harry, bring me back my Locket," Coraline held her hand out for Harry, but he just stared at her. Now that he was in the sunlight, I could see the long scar running from the bridge of his nose, through his left cheek, and ending at his jaw. He looked at her, expression cold, and shook his head.

"This isn't yours," said Harry, "This isn't anybody's." With that, he threw the Locket into the ocean. It hit the water and sunk, never to be seen again. Coraline screamed and I saw the glint of the dagger in her hand as she approached him, seething.

"How _dare _you—" she snarled, "I have every right to kill you right now—"

"No, you don't." Harry glared at her, "I simply did what was right for all of us, and you know it. You didn't even want the Locket, Coraline…" Coraline snarled at him, and he just stared back. "Our mission was to kill the girl. We weren't ever supposed to find the Locket." _What? Their mission was to kill Nollie? Had Harry been misleading us this entire time? _Earlier he said Coraline was confused because she wanted the Locket so badly she would kill for it—but now it was clear that getting the Locket wasn't her plan at all. Her plan was to kill Nollie.

Then why hadn't she?

Coraline had countless chances to kill her, but she never took a single one. Why did she want to kill Nollie?

"Why do you want to kill Nollie?" I heard myself say, and suddenly everyone was staring at me, even Nollie, who was now standing beside me. After staring me down for thirty seconds, Coraline broke into her bought of laughter, as always.

"Why do we want to kill her? I'll tell you why," she dropped the laugh and continued, "My Aunt Emilie doesn't like you," she pointed at Nollie and both of our jaws dropped.

"_Emilie_?" I tried not to shout as I said this, in such disbelief it could be considered criminal.

"Yes, Emilie. I believe she works for you, actually."

**Whoa! That was some ending, huh? But it's not the end. There's still... drumroll please... Chapter Seven! Release date? I dunno. But, if you review, maybe it'll be soon! :) :) ~DisneyPrincess55**


	7. Chapter 7

**I was really feeling like I was on a role... and chapter seven was an accident. Six ran a little long so I gave you all an EXTRA birthday present... THREE chapters instead of one! Whoa! :) And, yes, Coraline, Matthew, Nicholas and Harry are Emilie's niece and nephews. That was a plot twist I literally came up with while writing xD See you at the bottom! :) ~DisneyPrincess55**

Seven

Betrayal

"But Emilie—Emilie likes me," Nollie sounded like a mouse beside me, "You're lying."

"No, she's not," said Matthew, "Aunt Emilie hates you. She sees you as no better than dead." A million questions ran through my head: how did Emilie know where we were going and what we were looking for?

And then it hit me: the night before we left. _"Well, actually, Amaliada," Nollie had told Emilie. "Amaliada, Greece. It's a coastal city."_ But how did she know about the Locket?

"How did Emilie know about the Locket?"

"Easy. She overhears tons of stuff." It was like they were giving me all the reasons to fire her the instant we returned.

"I just don't understand why she would hate me," Nollie whispered, "I thought she liked it when I helped her."

"She didn't." Now I was glad I hadn't left Nollie home after her aunt was murdered like I planned on—Emilie could've tried to pull something and hurt her and she'd have nowhere to go for help.

"But _why_?" She whispered, and Coraline rolled her eyes.

"Quit asking questions and let us finish our job," Nicholas growled, moving towards her. I was faster, though, and I stepped in front of her.

"Don't touch her," I snapped, and he tried to move me out of the way. He was stronger than me, and right when he was inches from getting to Nollie, Harry shoved him away.

"Stay away from them," Harry retorted, and Coraline raised an eyebrow at him.

"Harry, I thought you already chose your side," she said, folding her arms across her chest, "I thought you were with us, your family."

"My _family_ doesn't kill people because their aunt told them to. You're _not_ my family," he snarled, "Aunt Emilie is out of her wits, Coraline, I figured you would all know this by now." Coraline didn't say anything, just stared at Harry with hatred burning in her amber eyes.

"You're an absolute idiot," she snarled.

"You know, I find you say that about everybody, no matter their brain capacity," said Harry, shrugging, "So calling me an idiot really doesn't worry me. You can call me whatever you wish, Coraline. I don't care. I'm not on your side and I will never side with you again. It was fun as children, to pretend to kill people, but as young adults, it's positively barbaric." Now was our chance to get out of here. With the Locket lost at sea it was time to go home—but not until Coraline gave it up. She had been standing there in silence for a minute, probably thinking, when something in her face crumpled.

"They may go," she said so quietly it was nearly impossible to hear her, and without another word, she was gone, Nicholas and Matthew trailing her. Nollie moved past me and hugged Harry, who looked shocked he was being touched by her.

"Thank you so much, Harry," she smiled, "For everything."

"You shouldn't be thanking me," he shrugged, "You need to get home and fire my aunt before she takes matters into her own hands."

"Why does she hate me?" Nollie whispered, and I gazed at her.

"We're not sure. But as I said earlier, she's out of her wits. Absolutely insane, and in the worst way. So, your best bet is to get rid of her."

"I'll do that. Thank you, Harry." I took Nollie's arm in mine and we walked back to the train station—it was time to go home.

One two-day-long train ride later, we were home. I was more than happy to see Snowy, and he was more than happy to see me.

I could tell Emilie was confused when she walked out of the kitchen and saw Nollie snuggling Snowy on the sofa. "You're home," she smiled, but I saw right through the smile, "What a marvelous surprise. I'll have supper ready in about an hour, is that all right?" She was turning to go but I stopped her right before she disappeared into the kitchen.

"Emilie, wait," I called and she slowed, turning around and smiling. "While in Amaliada we ran into some people who said they knew you… your niece, Coraline, and a few of your nephews? What were their names… Nicholas, Matthew and Harry, if I remember right."

"That's funny," she was flushing, "I don't have any nieces or nephews."

"Oh, I believe you do, because while we were there they attempted to kill Nollie… do you have any idea _why_ they wanted to kill her?" Emilie looked terrified in that moment, and I knew what Coraline had said was true.

"No—who would ever want to kill Nollie? She's so innocent and sweet…"

"They had orders from their aunt Emilie to kill her because their aunt Emilie _hated_ her," I corrected, and she stared at me, stunned.

"They must have another aunt Emilie, because I—"

"Give it a rest, Emilie," Nollie stood, holding Snowy, "We know you were trying to kill me. You're the only one who knew we were going to Amaliada." Emilie's eyes widened at Nollie, and she turned to me.

"Please don't fire me—" She pleaded, "I have no where else to go."

"Emilie, I'm afraid Nollie's safety always comes first to me," I shrugged, "So I'm going to have to let you go. Please go pack your things." She looked like she was going to say something but didn't, just nodded and went back to her room behind the kitchen. I turned back to Nollie, who was scratching Snowy behind the ears and staring off into space.

"When will my safety stop coming in first for you?" She asked, looking at me.

"Never," I murmured, kissing her. Snowy squeaked at the lack of attention and hopped out of her arms but we didn't notice.

**Yay! Book Three is complete! Now for the final: book four! Who knows, though... there might be a book five :) Thank you so much for reading, and remember, if you entered the ~H guessing contest and haven't sent me your name, I need it! I start work on book four immediately... Friday. :) ~DP55**


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